The pint-size actress and her footballer beau shared a sweet embrace Sunday in Hawaii. Wearing a flowing lilac dress, flip-flops and her hair pulled back, Panettiere sweetly held hands with McKnight, who sported board shorts, a striped tank and a backwards cap.

Of course, this New York Jet isn't the first athlete Panettiere has set her sights on…

The 22-year-old actress dated heavyweight boxer Wladimir Klitschko for nearly two years, splitting up amicably in 2011.

She was also mistakenly linked to McKnight's BFF Mark Sanchez when paparazzi photos showed the duo grabbing burgers together last June. "It's so funny, because Scotty was there," a source told E! News at the time. "But everyone saw her with Mark and took pics."

Panettiere actually met McKnight through Sanchez, who brought his pal to a pre-Oscar party in February 2011. "He was standing there and Hayden approached him and said, 'You look bored,' and they got to talking," our source said.

Ladies, sometimes it pays to make the first move.

Share

Share

Tweet

Email

<> Embed

CTRL-C or CMD-C, then press Enter.Click/tap elsewhere to exit, or press ESC.

Your information may be shared with other NBCUniversal businesses and used to better tailor our services and advertising to you. For more details about how we use your information, see our Privacy Policy. If you are located outside of the U.S., your information may be transferred to, processed and used in the U.S.